CDM Archive

Discipleship Ministries of the PCA

Church Leadership

You Were Made to Last Forever

by

Download the You Last Forever postcard that can be used as a bulletin insert, visitor followup, and many other things.

You Were Made to Last Forever is an effective method for sharing the Faith with people. PCA Teaching Elder Dick Fisher has developed a number of resources that you can access easily and effectively. This program is being used effectively in a number of different settings. It is a useable resource that will enable you to better present the Gospel.

Click here to visit the website


Watch the video below to learn more about You were Made to Last Forever:

The Kingdom Misunderstood, Part 1

by

The Kingdom Misunderstood

Editor’s Note: This is the first of a two part article dealing with the misperceptions many Christians have of the kingdom of God. What is ther ole of believers in the kingdom, how are they to impact the broader kingdom? Are there really two kingdoms?

Introduction

I begin by introducing you to Bill and Mary Wright. Bill is a 34 year old husband and father of two children, Terry 10 and Susan 7. Mary is a stay at home mom and has home schooled her children for a couple years, though they are presently attending a Christian school that meets in their church. Bill and Mary are active church members and clearly demonstrate a love for the Lord that is obvious to others.

Bill is a member of a successful law firm. He teaches a young adult Sunday school class in his church and is very active in civic events. He is on the church’s board of officers. You might call the Wright’s the quintessential Christian family.

Bill majored in political science in college and later entered law school. Presently, he is an active member of the bar. For several years Bill has had a desire to become more involved in politics. His friends have suggested that on a number of occasions, so has his wife Mary. He represents the more conservative line of political thinking and is certainly an advocate for rule of law in our country.

Read entire Equip 3rd Quarter, 2011 (Acrobat Reader required).

But as Bill thinks about this, he wrestles with a dilemma. He is a Christian and believes in church and state separation; therefore he wonders how he can be a good Christian and involved in politics at the same time. He has been taught by the system to think of religion as belonging to the private area of his life, including family and church, but politics is more for the public arena. He does not want to compromise his Christian faith by involving himself in an area that would require him to keep his religious beliefs, his Christian faith, to himself.

Bill’s situation reminds me of another occasion when I was teaching a seminar to leaders from several churches. The topic for the day was making kingdom disciples. I spent some time developing the point that there is actually more involved in making disciples than is often reflected and practiced by many today. I was explaining how being a Christian involved more than merely having a personal relationship with the Lord, than reading the Bible, praying, and witnessing. My point was that Christianity is a way of life, a total way of life, which many Christians fail to understand, especially today.

Christianity is a way of life, a total way of life

In trying to be as clear as possible, I said there is a sense in which you are no more spiritual when teaching a teenage Sunday school class on John 3:16, than you are teaching an eleventh grade mathematics class. The Bible teaches God’s special truth in what we would call the spiritual realm and the mathematics class teaches God’s truth in that broader realm. I continued–the only way you can know what John 3:16 means is for God to teach it to you and the only way that you can know that 2 plus 2 is 4 is because God is the author of all truth. Both are true because they come from God, as the God of all truth. Jesus commanded us to “make disciples” and we do that according to him, by teaching to observe all things whatsoever he has commanded, and by necessary inference, he has taught us. (Matthew 28:19 & 20).

If we see God’s truth wholistically, we are to be spiritual in everything that we do, 24/7 both in an out of the church. I am aware in saying this, many Christians do not understand this discipleship process. Their paradigm has been based on a wrong view of the church and kingdom, as well as discipleship itself. We will show this later, but for now, some see the church and kingdom as two separate entities while others see them as one and the same. While we believe neither of those are representative of the Bible’s teaching on the church of Jesus Christ and the Kingdom of God, it is so important to understand what the two are and how they are related, especially as they impact our worship and service of God.

On another occasion I was speaking at an annual convention of Christian school leaders. On the program was a young man who had also been influenced by the teachings of Francis Schaeffer. At that time he was serving in a staff position in Washington, D. C. He said in his address, that we would be pleased and amazed at how many of our members of Congress attend regular Bible studies. (This was several years ago). But then he said, you would be disappointed to see some of those same people move into the legislative hall and fail to incorporate those biblical truths into the issues with which they were dealing.

There is a false scenario that has penetrated our western world, including many of our churches, and it has caused people to see life from a dualistic, even fragmented perspective, thus creating Bill’s dilemma and keeping that 11th grade math teacher from seeing himself as a disciple maker in teaching math.

My purpose in this series of articles is to understand and evaluate the fallacy of Bill and Mary’s thinking about politics, and their misunderstanding of the church and Christianity, the false dichotomy reflected in the math class, and the failure of those politicians in Washington to know how to apply biblical truth to their civil responsibilities.

I want us to consider how the above examples have grown out of a wrong paradigm regarding education, especially Christian education and disciple-making but especially a wrong paradigm of the church and the kingdom of God (“The Lord has established his throne in the heavens, and his kingdom rules over all” Psalm 103:19; “Your Kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and your dominion endures throughout all generations.” Psalm 145:13).

How We Teach and How They Learn, Part 10 – Learning Styles and Denominations

by

Last time we looked at how learning styles are affected by culture. Here we will look at how they help form denominations.

If you have been following the growth of Christianity around the world you have seen it is the more charismatic type of churches experiencing the greatest increases. Combine this information with what we looked at last time, and you will notice that this phenomenon is taking place in cultures that fit two of the learning styles – Imaginative and Dynamic.

The PCA is a very cerebral denomination – we love facts and details, and we make sure that every jot and tittle of even the Book of Church Order is examined. That is not a criticism, it is just who we are. We are a hard and fast analytic group by nature. Most of our pastors will test out as either Analytic or Common Sense men.

Read entire issue of Equip 3rd Quarter, 2011 (Acrobat Reader required).

There are other denominations like us: Methodists, Anglicans, Lutherans, and even most Baptists.

On the other hand, there are denominations like the Pentecostal, the Assemblies of God, Church of God (certain ones), etc. These are not known for doctrinal teaching. Rather, their emphasis is on the emotional and experiential side of life. These groups are made up of people who are Imaginative and Dynamic learners. Remember, these are the learners who thrive on interpersonal contact over against those who are more concerned with details.

It is important to understand that God was the one who created people with these different learning styles, therefore, one style is not right and the other wrong. Nor can one be judged as better than another. We saw in Part 8 how each of the learning styles works together in a perfect flow. In the teaching and preaching settings, it is only when all four are addressed that the whole congregation or class is ministered to. So, instead of dividing from each other, there needs to be better communication across the boundaries.

Take the “worship wars” that are dividing so many churches. Those that are Imaginative and Dynamic are more likely to want lively and movement-allowing worship. The typical PCA type person wants to stand still and listen to the details of the sermon yet to come. When I have been invited to preach in a Pentecostal church I feel very free to raise my hands in worship. The problem for me is that when I do this my mind leaves the God I am there to worship and it focuses on my hands. Therefore, for me, as an Analytic, I prefer to stand still while singing, with my hands at my sides.

There are factors in these “worship wars” that are serious, but much of the war could end if we understood the different ways God has created us. Will we ever try to learn how to work together and stop seeing the “other side” as being the enemy? Only by His grace!
How We Teach and How They Learn

Jack Scott, January 2, 1928 – June 13, 2011

by

Jack Brown Scott, former CEP Staff Writer and Teacher, January 2, 1928-June 13, 2011

Jack ScottWhile attending the 39th General Assembly of the PCA last week in Virginia Beach, I received word along with a request for prayer from John Thomas Scott that his dad Jack was near death. We requested prayer from the General Assembly and Jack Scott revived a bit; however, Monday afternoon 12:45 pm, Jack was called home to be with the Lord.

I need not remind those who knew him, Jack Scott was an amazing man of God. I have had the privilege of knowing him for many years and then the special privilege and honor of having him on our CEP staff of over seven years. When I began serving the PCA as the Coordinator of CEP, Jack Scott was on that committee. At that time he was professor of Old Testament at Reformed Theological Seminary in Jackson, Mississippi. (Jack was one of the founding professors of RTS). We had been together on several previous occasions, Bible conferences, various committee meetings, etc.

Part of my desire from the beginning was to develop an adult Bible study series that would help people in the church to better know the English Bible from a Reformed perspective. As I shared my vision at that first CEP Committee meeting in January of 1977, Dr. Scott expressed his appreciation. My response was “Jack, I really need someone to help me actualize that. Would you consider being that man?” To my surprise his response gave me encouragement.

After a period of prayer over the next couple of weeks, we continued to talk and early 1977 Jack left RTS and joined our CEP staff. He shared both the concern and vision for such a curriculum. He and his precious wife Eleanor Caslick Scott joined us.

At that point he began writing a 26 volume curriculum for studying the English Bible, including two outstanding surveys of the Old and New Testament. Over the next six years Jack wrote that curriculum with great diligence. Of course when I say English Bible, he was a brilliant linguist, having mastered the Hebrew language for which he soon received his PhD. Among his many writings, I would have to call the Adult Biblical Education Series (ABES) his magnum opus. The first volume appeared in late 1977 and since that time we have continued to print and reprint those studies. (I had the privilege and responsibility of writing the early leader’s guides which required reading each one. What a spiritual education and blessing!).

Jack Scott was an exemplary husband and father, a faithful brother in Christ, an outstanding Bible scholar, and a servant leader with an obvious pastor’s heart. Jack loved his family, his friends, as well as his Lord, and that was reflected in every aspect of Jack’s life.

His love and care for Eleanor, his children, Edward, Caroline, John Thomas, and Ann modeled a real covenant family for all of us.

Having begun as a missionary in Korea where he met and married Eleanor, to pastoring churches in Kentucky and Mississippi, to the faculty of RTS, and then CEP. Jack demonstrated his commitment to Christian education as the fulfillment of God’s great commission.

His love and counsel sustained me through many hard and frustrating times in our ministry together. Jack modeled a consistency in his Christian life that has been a challenge to us all. Kennedy Smartt, a former classmate of Jack’s at Davidson College, prior to serving together later in the PCA, said to me this morning, “my fondest memory of Jack is teaching himself Hebrew while in college.”

We continue to reprint many of his writings, especially the ABES series which PCA churches have been using now for over 25 years. Though Jack did not like for me to say it, I had to because it was true, namely, “when you read Jack Scott’s material, you have read the best of biblical scholarship.” It was my privilege to write a chapter in a book honoring Dr. Jack B. Scott three years ago, Interpreting and Teaching the Word of Hope, Essays in Honor of Jack Brown Scott on His Seventy-Seventh Birthday.”

Jack was a gifted man of God and his life has blessed us in so many ways.

We join with Eleanor, and the family in remembering Jack Scott and we do so with the confidence of the Apostle Paul’s words, “…To depart and be with Christ, for that is far better,” Phil. 1:23 “And I heard a voice from heaven saying, “Write this: “Blessed are the dead, who die in the Lord from now on.” “Blessed indeed,” says the Sprit, “That they may rest from their labors, for this deeds follow him,” Rev. 14:13.

Charles Dunahoo, CEP Coordinator.

How We Teach and How They Learn, Part 9 – Learning Styles, Culture, and Denominations

by

How We LearnWe have looked at all four learning styles. Did you find where you fit? Even more, have you learned to appreciate that not everyone learns in the same way you learn? This time I want to go a step further and explain how learning styles fit in different cultural settings, and next time how it even affects different denominations.

In every culture, all four learning styles exist. However, not all cultures fit the same learning style(s). Let me explain. We live in a Western culture. The characteristics of Western thinking are that we like things to be done in a logical, sequential, and time-honoring way. When we teach something like Church History, we make sure we start from the very beginning and work straight through to today.

Well, not every culture works like this. Two-thirds of the world fits what is called a non-Western culture. Time is not measured the way we measure it in importance. In a non-Western setting, time is not as important as the event is. Let me give an example.

A colleague of mine in South Africa asked if he could teach Church History. He was educated in Western schools, colleges, and also two seminaries. But he was from a very non-Western culture, and his learning style was imaginative, stretching over into the dynamic. After teaching for a couple of weeks the students started coming to me complaining about the class. They could not figure out what he was doing. The first week he started with Martin Luther, then went back to Augustine, then to Constantine. As the students talked I began to realize what the prof was doing. I asked the students if they enjoyed the lessons on Luther, etc. They loved what he had to say, but they could not put together what he was doing. Nor were they happy that Church History was all over the place.

These students previously had my course on Teaching and Learning, so I went over with them what we studied regarding learning styles and their effects on culture. It was the events of history that were important to this prof more than where they fit in history. He was a global learner, more interested in people and events than in details like who came first. Once the students put all this together, they were able to go back to class, and together we worked with this prof to help him understand what was going to help these students the most.

Another way to understand this cultural divide is to see how it affects our observance regarding time. Westerners keep time, while non-Westerners make time. Which one is right? If you say one or the other you would be wrong. It is not a right/wrong issue. Both have their place, and both need to learn to play well with each other.

If you can grasp this difference, then there is one more thing that will help in your Bible study. The culture of the Bible is not Western! When you read the Gospels do you ever wonder why the events of Jesus’ life are not written chronologically? The Gospel writers were not Western. What was important to them was each event of Jesus’ life more than the sequence. Therefore, learn from what God has given us, and don’t try to read more into it than is there.

If you have questions about this, or anything regarding learning styles or Christian education, we are here to help. Feel free to email me, and I will do what I can. dbennett@pcanet.org

Targeting Comprehensive Christian Education

by

It never ceases to amaze me that anywhere in the world you say “Christian Education” people automatically think Sunday school. Is this the only Christian education the church does? If it is, then we are in big trouble. Let me explain.

In teaching the Christian Education (CE) courses in South Africa for eight years, the student’s first exercise was to list every church activity, i.e., worship, soup kitchens, Bible study, missions, etc. The challenge was for them to tell me which one was not CE! As you read further, that is my challenge to you, because the way you understand the educational ministry of your church will determine its spiritual depth. You disagree? Then my challenge is to prove my point.

Let’s start with missions. My contention is that missions is a sub-set of CE! What do missionaries do? They share the Gospel. To share the Gospel means to teach the meaning of the Gospel – this is CE! When there is a group of converts a church is started and training leaders is a number one priority. Training is CE! How about worship? Worship is leading people in worship to understand the importance of what they are doing. It is not only the sermon (which in itself is CE), but it is instructing the people to understand what they are singing and why. A well planned worship service is led by one who understands what it means to keep the people focused and aware of what they are doing. This too is CE!

View and download the complete Equip to Disciple Issue 1, 2011 (Acrobat Reader required).

Think about every ministry in your Church. Is there one thing that isn’t in actuality Christian education in some way?

So what is the point? In any good education program there must be good planning and coordination. This is where it appears that many churches fall short in seeing the big picture of what is really taking place.

If you had asked your child’s teacher what she was going to cover that year, how would you react if told she will figure that out as they go along? Imagine 12 years of this? Would anyone ever get an education? Then why do we think that we can do this in the church? This leads to a further challenge.

I will use several examples:

Youth: What are they being taught? Why? What is the plan? What should they know, be, and do after 4 years? Or is your group like most, simply teaching one topic this week and another the next; somehow hoping they will eventually develop a healthy Christian worldview by themselves. Is this what you want for your young people who will be going on to university where they will be confronted with philosophies that are not only not Christian, but in many cases anti-Christian? Have you really prepared them? This is like that teacher with no plan.

Bible studies: What is being studied? Why this study? What are you trying to accomplish in this group and study? At the end of this study what will they know, be, and do? Think about this – if you have no objectives then your objective is to accomplish nothing. But you say, “Our objective is to study the book of Romans.” Great! But what does that mean? If you ask the group at the end what they have learned about Romans you might be shocked that little was learned or remembered. Worse yet, little has happened to change anyone’s life. The goal for CE (discipleship) must be transformed lives! If our only goal is to cover a book, or to know a doctrine, then true discipleship has not taken place. Discipleship is moving people ever closer (by the work of the Holy Spirit) to being like Jesus (Rom. 8.29). So I ask you again, in your teaching, what are your goals for your group becoming more like Jesus? Will they see Jesus in every verse? Will they grow in their relationship with Jesus as a result of interacting with Romans?

Another area focuses on – preaching. Are your sermons planned for the next year? Why not? What are you trying to accomplish? What really “scares” me about wellmeaning preachers is when they say they believe they are discipling their people through their sermons. That is scary because you have already told me that you do not have a plan for what you hope your sermons will accomplish. How does your sermon connect with other teaching going on in the church? You have one ‘goal’ for this sermon and another for the next. If your people don’t know your objective, how can you expect them to figure it out when you haven’t? This is not discipleship; this is a hit-and-miss approach to giving disconnected information, with no thread to help the people tie it all together! This again is like the teacher you would not allow to teach your children.

Continued…